Thanksgiving with Dorie: Thanksgiving Twofer Pie

Wow! It's been forever since I've made a post. With school being busy just before Thanksgiving break, working for my mom this entire week and having hordes of family members come in from all over the U.S. (and having them stay over at my place), I just haven't had the time. Until now! And I'm happy to be back. This week, we were given an extension for this week's recipe challenge since everyone would be busy preparing their Turkey Day feasts. This week's recipe--a pumpkin and pecan pie combo (hence, the "twofer" nickname) chosen by Vibi of La Casserole Caree --was the perfect dessert for my family's meal last night. The recipe is featured on her blog and received pretty good reviews from my family, even though it shared counter space with my more-favored Macadamia Nut Pie (which I'll post about later).

I know a lot of people can't stand pumpkin, but I love, love, love it...especially at this time of the year. I thought it would make a sensational accompaniment to the traditional pecan pie. This is what the pie looked like after filling the partially-baked pie shell with the pumpkin filling and then topping it with the chopped pecans.

Here, the pecans are soaking in a bath of the pecan filling, which consisted of dark corn syrup, eggs, brown sugar and some other yummy goodness!

As rude as it was, I insisted on having the first slice. I have a HUGE family and I was afraid I wasn't going to be able to take a test test so I could make a proper review. Now even though this pie was outdone by the aforementioned macadamia pie, it was delicious in it's own right. Others agreed. The pecan crust as well as the pie crust were so nicely crisped and the pumpkin neutralized the sweetness of the pecan filling. Perfecto! I'll definitely be making this one again!

Please stay tuned for more thanksgiving recipes. I've been doing so much cooking and baking lately that I'll be making posts for the next few days!

Barefoot Bloggers: Herb Roasted Onions

A little late posting for BB, I know, but I actually have until the end of the month! I sure have been busy. Let me tell you...I love onions. Well, not raw, but grilled or roasted! I was excited to give Ina's Herb Roasted Onion recipe a try. It's so simple. You take some red and yellow onions, marinate them with dijon mustard, olive oil and a few herbs and you've got yourself a wonderful accompaniment to chicken (as you can see below) or, well, anything. Shoot, it can be eaten alone too!


Please don't be fooled. I didn't bake the chicken. I was in a hurry to whip up something for lunch the other day and ran over to Wal-Mart to buy it. Talk about convenient. And it indeed was a perfect combination. Aren't all those colors just pretty too? I ended up taking this dish to my mom's work to share with her. Needless to say, we were both so full. We both loved the onions. They were so sweet and tender and the dijon dressing was so deliciously flavored. The lemon juice definitely gave it some kick! I even poured some of the leftover dressing over the chicken. Deee-lightful! We definitely plan on making these again! Here's the recipe for ya!

Herb Roasted Onions (by Ina Garten)

2 red onions

1 yellow onion

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1/2 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup good olive oil

1/2 tablespoon minced fresh parsley leaves

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Remove the stem end of each onion and carefully slice off the brown part of the root end, leaving the root intact. Peel the onion. Stand each onion root end up on a cutting board and cut the onion in wedges through the root. Place the wedges in a bowl.
   For the dressing, combine the lemon juice, mustard, garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Slowly whisk in the olive oil.
3. Pour the dressing over the onions and toss well. With a slotted spoon, transfer the onions to a sheet pan, reserving the vinaigrette that remains in the bowl.
4. Bake the onions for 30 to 45 minutes, until tender and browned. Toss the onions once during cooking.
5. Remove from the oven, and drizzle with the reserved dressing. Sprinkle with parsley, season to taste and serve warm or at room temperature.

Tuesdays with Dorie: Arborio Rice Pudding

I am a huge fan of the Kozy Shack brand of vanilla rice pudding, so when I found out we'd be making it this month I was stoked, especially since it's my first time making it! In all honesty, it took me two tries to make it. I should have read the P&Qs first because I discovered that everyone simmered their rice for longer than the 30 minutes prescribed in the recipe. So the first try, I got rice soup. Late last night after cleaning up a nice mess my dog made for me while out at school (and instead of working on a very important homework assignment) I took another stab at it. After almost an hour of simmering, I got just what the recipe said I was supposed to get--thick, milky white goodness!

I chilled the pudding overnight and this morning, my mom and I each enjoyed a martini glass full of this creamy, delicious concoction! I topped it with some of The Pampered Chef's Sweet Cinnamon Sprinkles.....yum! Not sure when I'm going to make it again, but I'm so glad I had a chance to tackle it. Thanks to Isabelle of Les gourmandises d'Isa for selecting this week's recipe challenge. Run over to her blog for the complete recipe!

Blueberry Apple Pie

I got this recipe from one of my favorite bloggers, Pamela of Cookies With Boys. It looked so yummy and I needed a dessert to accompany the pasta I made for my family on Friday. You would be amazed by how easy it was to make, especially since I cheated an used Pillsbury's ready-made pie crust. All you have to do is toss the apples, blueberries and a few other ingredients and dump them into the pie shell and voila! You've got a stupendous dessert to serve and enjoy.


I actually used double the pie topping, which I probably could have done without. It just made the pie more rich! As Pam said, the pie was a little runny, and I agree. But it did thicken a little bit more as it sat and paired very nicely with cool whip!



Here's the finished product! Finger-lickin' good, I tell ya! I'd like to thank Pam for sharing such a wonderful recipe on her blog. Check it out!


Blueberry Apple Pie
(Adapted from Cooks.com)

2 c. sliced and peeled tart apples
2 c. frozen blueberries
1 c. sugar (used 3/4 c.)
2 tbsp. flour
2 tbsp. butter(skipped)
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg(skipped)
2-3 tbsp. lemon juice(skipped)

9 inch pie shell topping:
2 tbsp. flour
2 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. sugar

Combine all ingredients and place in the pie shell. Mix topping ingredients together and sprinkle over the top. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes then 350 degrees for 30 more minutes. Cool for about five minutes. Serve and enjoy!

Spaghetti with Eggplant, Butternut Squash and Shrimp

I saw Giada De Laurentis whip this dish up on TV around Halloween time. She commented that the orange of the butternut squash and shrimp, as well as the black of the eggplant, along with the fresh orange-colored pasta she used made it look scary. I didn't think so, but I did think that the dish looked good--good enough for me to want to make. I was having my parents and brother over for dinner so I thought I'd try something new with them. The name of the dish says all about what goes into it, as you can see here. The recipe called for Japanese eggplant, but since I couldn't find any, I used the regular kind that you can find at any grocery store. Then there's the vibrant butternut squash (my favorite kind of squash), the large shrimp (my favorite seafood), garlic and onions.

Overall, I thought the dish was just okay and not anything to rave about. My family said it was good, but they didn't take too well to all the vegetables in it since they're used to some kind of meaty marinara sauce. Basically, what I had left when everyone had their serving was a dish full of noodles, eggplant, and squash. The shrimp was the biggest hit of the evening, although I must say that the butternut squash was wonderfully sweet. Needless to say, I don't think I'll be making this dish for a while. I think I'm more likely to use marinara sauce in the dish next time to give it more flavor, but I'm not so sure the combination will work well. Oh yeah...and I think I'd eliminate the eggplant. The squishiness kind of got to me. I don't know, we'll see. But hey, if you're curious and would like to give this a try go ahead. You might like what you get!

Spaghetti with Eggplant, Butternut Squash and Shrimp

(Recipe courtesy of Giada De Laurentis)

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

3 large garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 small butternut squash, peeoled, seeded, and cut into 1/2 inch pieces (about 5 cups)

1 tsp dried rosemary, crumbled

1 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme leaves

1 1/4 cups dry white whine

2 cups fish broth, fresh or frozen, or canned vegetable broth

2 pounds uncooked large shrimp, peeled and deveined

Salt and pepper

17.5 oz. orange-colored fresh spaghetti or linguine

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

1. Heat the oil in a heavy large nonstick frying pan over medium heat. Add onion and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for just a minute. Add the squash, eggplant, rosemary, and thyme and saute for 8 to 10 minutes.


2. Add the wine and broth and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Decrease the heat to medium-low and simmer until the squash is tender and the liquid is reduced by about half, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.


3. Add the shrimp and simmer gently until almost cooked through, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.


4. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but firm to the bite, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Drain pasta (alternatively, you can use dried pasta which will take 8 to 10 minutes to cook).


5. Toss the pasta, squash mixture and butter in a large bowl until the liquid thickens. Serve and enjoy!
   
   

Operation Baking Gals: Round 4

First of all, since I just returned from a trip to Texas, I wasn't able to make this week's TWD recipe, Kugelhopf. I'd try to pronounce it the way my friend, Anna (who is German), says it, but I'd still mess it up. It sounds like "google-oopf" and she laughs when I try to say it. The recipe was chosen by Yolanda of The All-Purpose Girl. She has a beautiful blog, so check it out as well as the other TWD-ers who have turned out some beautiful Kugelhopf cakes! At any rate, this is my second round of Operation Baking Gals and I was honored to be a part of Team Angry Asian, hosted by Lan, whose blog, The Angry Asian, is just fantastic! Her blog features details of our soldier, PFC Amie McMillan. To sum up, Amie is a Public Affairs Specialist within a Military Police unit overseas. I am a huge fan, on the basis of her being in the ARMY, since both my husband and I are as well. I was so happy to bake her some Chocolate Chunk Pecan Cookies--a recipe featured on the Joy of Cooking website. Click here for the deliciously simple recipe. My cookies didn't come out as big and chewy as those on the website, but they were scrumptious!

Of course, the package would not have been complete without all other essentials, as seen below. I love putting these together! Shopping for the items is so much fun!

I don't know when the next round is, but I'm anxious to get people baking for Malu and his teammates! I've already told him to be prepared to received tons of packages!

Tuesdays with Dorie: Rugelach

So I was able to make the Rugelach after all. Not only did I feel bad about skipping this week, but my friend Heidi (who is visiting from North Carolina) asked this morning if I was going to be baking anything. And I was like, well, I'm supposed to be baking something for Tuesdays with Dorie, but didn't think I had the time. Well, I found time and I'm glad that I did. Yet, I still can't pronounce the name of this yummy treat! Maybe Grace, of Piggy's Cooking Journal, can help you out with that. Her blog is spectacular and it has the entire recipe for your perusal. So go check it out!

At any rate, these little things look like they're so easy to make...on other people's blogs. I had a horrible time with the dough. I don't have a food processor, so I'm thinking that may have been the source of my problem. I used my KitchenAid mixer instead and even though I refrigerated the dough for over two hours, I found that after a few minutes (while I rolled it out), it became too soft and almost like a paste. So when trying to roll the Rugelach, the dough fell apart, or just wouldn't roll! It was a nightmare! When all was said and done, I only had about 12 Rugelach. And some of them came out funny looking because I couldn't roll them properly.




I decided that Rugelach is just okay. I don't think that I'll be making them again anytime soon, but I'm just glad that I was able to try something new. Heidi tried them and said that they were okay, but she would've preferred other fillings. She suggested apple. She was a good sport, though, and I'm glad that she was here to try them. So if you're wondering what Rugelach is all about, just head on over to Grace's blog! As I said in my previous post, I am going to be out of town until next Tuesday, so I don't think I'll be making next week's recipe, Gugelhopf. Actually, I think I'll make it later next week because I actually went out and bought myself a German Gugelhopf pan. So just stay tuned!

P.S. In case anyone is wondering, I used bittersweet chocolate pieces, dried cherries, raspberry preserves and pecans for the filling.